Why Man Utd goal stood despite Maguire 'handball'

Harry Maguire's apparent handball did not prevent a goal standing in Manchester United's match against Ipswich Town on 30 August 2026. The ruling followed a video assistant referee review during the game.

The ball came off Maguire's arm before he moved a few yards forward into the box and his shot found its way into the back of the net. The effort was going well wide and deflected into the back of the net off Jacob Greaves; it was officially an own goal. Harry Maguire is still without a goal in 2026.

The handball law often serves to confuse supporters and reared its head again in this incident. There are three exemptions for when accidental handball by the scorer does not count: Goal scored by a team-mate Action of a defender results in an own goal.

The video assistant referee Jarred Gillett said to referee Craig Pawson: "It's an own goal and the accidental handball is not punishable, so we recommend you award the goal."

Indeed, the goal could have been disallowed had the VAR felt it was deliberate handball by Maguire.

A similar situation occurred in January 2023 with a goal for Brentford against Liverpool. The ball accidentally came off the arm of Ben Mee and ended up in the back of the net, but it was not going towards goal and deflected off Ibrahima Konate for an own goal.

Manchester United went on to win the game 5-2 thanks to a Bruno Fernandes hat-trick.